This blog is designed to serve as a repository of analyses, news reports and press releases related to the issue of RERAPATIONS within the framework of the Extraordinary Chambers in Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), a.k.a. the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Millions of Complaints Against the KR Leaders to Be Filed

The Co-prosecutors To Verify More Than One Million Legal Complaints Against the Khmer Rouge Leaders After 1979

Phnom Penh: The office of prosecutors of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal ‘might’ accept more than one million legal complaints filed against the Khmer Rouge leaders since the State of Kampuchea to verify.

“We might accept those more than one million legal complaints to check. No law forbids the acceptance,” claimed Khmer Rouge Tribunal’s Co-prosecutor Chea Leang on May 25, 2007.

The co-prosecutor pointed out that there were, however, some difficulties since more than one million people who had made those legal complaints were not sure to be all alive until now and whether or not they still wanted to be the plaintiffs.

“If those legal complaints are submitted to us, we will check and subpoena those who signed in the motion-liked complaints to question about the truth and take legal actions,” she said.

Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), said May 25, 2007 that the DC-Cam was keeping the legal complaints made by 1,100,000 victims of the Khmer Rouge regime since the State of Kampuchea.

The director of the DC-Cam is optimistic that if the Khmer Rouge Tribunal uses these legal complaints, it will be very useful. It will allow more participation and provide justice and national reconciliation to Cambodia.

Concerning legal procedures in submitting the complaints from the victims, Co-prosecutor Chea Leang said that at the moment everyone could file their legal complaints without any specific form. In those complaints, the victims describe what they saw and have gone through during the regime.

The co-prosecutor said that there had not been many private complaints so far, and that but a lot of victims became plaintiffs through being witnesses.

“At the moment, we are also waiting for the internal rules since in those internal rules or internal regulations, some articles also state about the legal procedures in filing the complaint, and if the internal rules are successful, we will announce to the public so that people will understand more about it," said Chea Leang.